CALGARY, A.B. – The CEO of Encana Corp. says government policy is making Canada an increasingly uncompetitive place to drill for oil and gas.

Doug Suttles says it costs his company about $100,000 in carbon taxes on the diesel required to drill and complete each well in northeastern British Columbia, a cost his competitors in similar plays in the United States do not pay.

He told the Energy Roundtable conference in Calgary that Encana’s wells produce clean-burning natural gas which is then processed in one of three recently built gas plants that use emissions-free hydro electricity.

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Eventually, as facilities are built, that gas will be shipped to a hydro electricity-powered liquefied natural gas export terminal on the West Coast and on to Asia, where it may replace coal in producing electricity.

However, Suttles says his company doesn’t get credit for reducing global emissions and, thanks to corporate tax cuts under President Donald Trump, pays higher income taxes in Canada than it does in the U.S.

Suttles, who refused to talk to reporters after his speech, says Canada needs to take a stronger role in responsible global energy leadership.

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